A series of workshops starting January in support of the Campus Community Garden Project will encourage further development of urban farming in Windsor-Essex, says the UWindsor alumnus who won a $3,558 grant to make it happen.
Robert Woodrich (BA 2011) received the monies from the Cooperators Foundation’s Impact Fund, created to engage youth in sustainability solutions that will have a positive impact on Canadian communities.
“Combining environmental and social issues, I immediately thought of the community garden,” he says.
The plan is for about eight free workshops to provide practical advice on ways that participants can bring sustainable eating and gardening practices home.
“I think people are increasingly turning toward consuming local products,” says Woodrich, now a masters student at Wilfrid Laurier University. “I would love for people to see the campus doing something to reach out to the community.”
The funding will cover small honoraria for the workshop facilitators, as well as supplies like vegetable seeds that participants can use in their own planting.
“The idea is that the series will give university students and community members the skills to grow their own vegetables—whether in backyard gardens or even window boxes,” he says.